Whether you personally agree or not, the NFL MVP award has essentially turned into the 'best quarterback' award each year. The MVP has been won by a quarterback every single year since 2013, and it would not shock me if this ended up being a 20+ year streak.
It's what the league has turned into, and there isn't much of an indication that this trend is going to stop any time soon. That might be a great thing depending on who you ask, but perhaps the 2026 season could bring a fun non-quarterback MVP.
Let's try to predict the most likely first-time MVP winners for the 2026 NFL Season.
Predicting potential first-time MVP winners in the 2026 NFL Season
7. Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks
Sam Darnold helped lead the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl title this past season. What we saw from Darnold was a high-end ability to simply throw the football down the field and all over the field.
There is reason to believe that being in year two could bring a heightened comfortability level, even with a new offensive coordinator. These past two seasons, Darnold has been among the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and I am not sure it was wild to think that he was a legitimate MVP candidate in 2024, despite coming in just 10th place in voting.
6. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers
Jordan Love has been a perfectly 'good' quarterback in his starting career. He's actually won nine starts in each of his three starting seasons, so we've seen a very high floor with Love, but the ceiling appears to be nothing special.
With that being said, Love's passer rating has been above 96 in his three starting years, which includes a 101.2 passer rating in 2025, and throwing 32 touchdown passes back in 2023. The potential is there, and Love possesses all the tools to become a slam-dunk elite player.
At some point, if Love can put some of the injuries aside and somehow reach another level, Love could be an MVP winner. We have seen quarterbacks hit their stride deeper into their careers. Quarterback play/development in the NFL is absolutely not linear.
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